The draw of small notebooks
Now that I’m using a very small notebook again, the Fujitsu P1620, it’s making me realize some things that I had forgotten from when I used its predecessor. This has to do with the draw of carrying and using such a small notebook computer, something that I think has been a big factor in the popularity of the Asus EEE PC. The Fujitsu is almost the same size as the EEE PC and I can certainly attest to the usability of a notebook computer so small.
The huge interest in the EEE PC after it was announced surprised a lot of people but I have to admit I was not one of those. I had been using a P1610 for months and was never disappointed to find it attracted a lot of attention everywhere I pulled it out. Don’t get me wrong, the main reason the EEE PC has been so popular is no doubt the cheap price but I can tell you the form factor plays a big role in the interest that people have in the device based on my experience with the Fujitsu. I am finding the same high level of interest in the P1620 the few days I have been carrying it around and that jogged my memory over how interesting people always found the P1610 when I was using it.
One most notable example was last year when I attended the BarCamp Houston, a geek festival with a lot of savvy people who are pretty familiar with mobile computing. At the beginning of the BarCamp agenda I was sitting in the orientation presentation with probably a hundred people and I had the Fujitsu in my hands taking notes and surfing the web. I didn’t realize how many people were intrigued by this little notebook until after this session. Over the period of the next few hours I was approached by no fewer than 20 people who had seen me using the Fuji who wanted to see the "tiny notebook". You have to realize that just about everyone at this conference was carrying a notebook of some sort as these are highly connected people. Every single person who asked to see the Fuji admitted they were highly interested because they could see that the size was perfect for carrying everywhere and using it with little or no trouble. They would try the keyboard and once they saw they could type fine on it with a little practice each one of them said they’d buy one in a heartbeat if they could get something similar for a good price. Enter the EEE PC and you see why this genre has really heated up and why I think HP intends to make a big splash in this area. It’s all about the size (and cheap price). :) It’s also why UMPC will soon come to signify one of these small notebooks and not a handheld device of some type. Numbers always win in the naming business.
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So in other words, size does matter?
Yes, and even better the smaller the better. :)
I completely agree with you, except for that, “the smaller the better”, comment.
If a device doesn’t have a usable keyboard, I’m not interested. I don’t view thumbing or tapping as an option.
there is absolutely no doubt that people are highly interested in very small laptops (10″ & under). everytime i pull out my subnote somebody always has to comment on it. society is so ingrained as to believing the standard is 15″ that when they see my subnote in some ways they are actually sorta blown away. but they then always associate the computer with high price “that thing must have cost a fortune” & professional usage.
the single biggest obstacle has always been price. starting price points for 15″ bigbox manufactures is around $400 & very well loaded for under $1000. you cant even come close to that in the ultraportable world. most ultraportables from Fujitsu/Sony/etc dont even start until $1500-$1700 & fully loaded pushing near $3,000.
what Asus has done is simply brilliant, they have started a revolution. i promise 1 day everybody will look back at Asus as the “Father” of this genre; cheap ultraportables, that started it all. Asus realized that the basic consumer will take on the extra size of a 15″ in order to save alot of money, so an ultraportable has to be cheap to compete. what they also realized is that most ultraportables are used as secondary PC’s & people will NOT spend alot of money on a secondary PC (they really dont even like doing it for their primary PC).
the 12″ market has had some moderate success penetrating the market, it doesnt suffer as much from the price problems. but i’ve never known anybody really involved in the ultraportable world to consider a 12″ a “true” ultraportable as most of them are quite large and 4+ lbs. many enthusiasts dont even begin to listen until you start talking 10″ or less. just listen to the crys of the Apple fans when the MBA was announced, most scoffed at Apple calling it an ultraportable. and said they were hoping for something 10″ or less that they could carry with them everywhere.
lol @ Lee
Oh why didn’t I see that one coming?
mobiletechfan.com
James, I totally agree with you on this. I’ve been evaluating several devices lately — Nokia N810, EEE pc, OQO, EPOS pen. People were/are always asking about them.
I decided I loved the EEE size and weight, keyboard more than good enough for me, but wanted more resolution. So when Fujitsu announced the p1620, I figured I’d watch out for bargains on the p1610 (figured I don’t need Vista class, and don’t want to spend for it).
The bargains have come — Fujitsu has been dumping them on EBay daily, and they can be had for $800 USD or so with XP Tablet. If others want to take advantage of it, they should read the specs carefully (OS, memory, New vs refurbished, bluetooth). I got a new 512/30GB/XP Tablet (1 year warranty) for $827+tax & shipping, and I love it! Added a Nova bluetooth shipped for $27 straight from Hong Kong and I’m ready for anything! Now to improve my inking, and avoid vectoring (maybe my pinky fingernail?)!
But do you really take the P1620 everywhere?
I had a P1510D and I still have two Q1s and they’re conveniently carryable. I still use the Q1s around the house. But you have to make an effort and plan to carry them out and about, much like a conventional laptop.
You can’t beat the OQO for true “anywhere” computing. I never leave home without it. I carry it in a belt case like a cell phone. Although of course it’s too slow and too small for work. I use a laptop for that.
Ken, I agree that any device over 5″ isn’t pocketable and therefore you won’t take it with you everywhere. But instead of an OQO, why not an HTC Advantage? As a Windows Mobile device, it boots faster and handles the small screen better. It won’t run Windows apps, but most of those have Windows Mobile corollaries.
I agree with Nate. If the device doesn’t have a decent keyboard, I’m not interested.
I think the HP mini-NB is going to sell like hotcakes.
For me, keyboard never has been a key factor in sub notebook. In fact, I much prefer a laptop without keyboard for better portability and inkability. I can add a keyboard via USB or bluetooth as needed, but can’t do anything about portability. I also want to rather have a bigger screen and higher resolution at the expense of keyboard if possible. Those are the reasons I like my Q1 ultra so much and carry it around more often than 2710P.